Cold Therapy

[HairIsPossible]

how is it going with your cold therapy Hairispossible?

I dropped the ice therapy after a few weeks mostly because I was so sick of holding my neck at such a severe angle in order to keep my head submerged in ice water.

I then began doing "hot blooded headstands" which I described here: https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/hot-blooded-headstands.99090/

This I eventually realized was the wrong approach which I discuss to some degree here: https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/what-is-causing-my-head-to-be-so-hot.100311/

I have in the past month been faithfully committed to Tom Haggerty's scalp exercise and I must say my scalp is feeling more supple and flexible than ever before, but it is too early to tell if it will result in increased hair density.

Whatever the case, the more I experiment, observe, and think about this most widespread human defect, the more I am sure that it is the result of changes in circulation whether those changes be the result of hypoxia, chronic muscle tension, gravity, galea stiffness, loss of subcutaneous fat or any other small mechanical defect of the human scalp which would prevent adaquate circulation to reach follicles on the top of the head.

The idea that baldness being the result of "genetic sensitivity" to DHT is too moronic for me to even laugh at anymore, if I see someone mention that on a forum I immediately move on. DHT as an androgen is almost definitely related to contributing to the "mechanical defects" that I just described, but it has nothing to do with some "genetic switch" which suddenly turns on in the hair follicles of the head signaling them to start shrinking while everywhere else on the body DHT has the exact opposite effect on hair follicles.

I have a limited amount of time to devote to the study of this question, but what I have noticed consistently is that trans-women will commonly grow back almost all their hair, all the way to a juvenile hairline, regardless of how bald they are, if they start flooding their system with estrogens. Obviously, women with high estrogen also have the thickest and fullest hair and this makes me wonder what effects estrogens have on the scalp and, in particular, how they may effect the circulation of blood to hair follicles.

It cannot be the estrogen/androgen balance itself which is responsible for hair loss or hair growth because otherwise you would see older men who were bald in middle age start growing their hair back because the estrogen levels in men often increases as they advance past middle age. It is instead, either the lacking of some positive mechanical effect of estrogen or the excess negative mechanical effect of androgens on the circulation of blood to the follicles which is the cause of androgenic alopecia. When I say "mechanical" I mean the literal physiological mechanics required for a hair follicle to grow.

It is extremely disheartening that the dermatology research field is run like a mafia don ensuring that no line of thought is explored that could possible threaten the profits of the baldness industry which is about to extreme an unprecedented boom now that the generation of young men in China and India are experiencing far more baldness than their parents did. This by the way further supports the idea that environment and lifestyle plays a major role in the onset of male pattern baldness.

The suppression of the truth regarding this disease is so extreme, that I doubt I could even get a single dermatologist to seriously discuss the questions I have raised to any meaningful depth. Despite their greed and sophistry, we are going to figure this out, but without the aid of their technical knowledge and experience it is going to take a lot longer and require a much more valiant effort.

I will give you all another update in a few months, but until then do not for a moment feel down about your condition. Take pride in the fact that you have seen through the lies of the "medical" community, and that by even pondering the nature of your hair and scalp you are engaging in the eternal glory of real scientific inquiry. Your efforts, if they are genuine, will not go forever unrewarded. Your hair may not be of use to you now, but your mind is begging to be used so that you may once again find a way to make use of your hair.

If it is any consolation in the meantime:
a bald man with a full mind will always be more attractive to a woman than a bald mind with full hair.

 

[Armando Jose]

Good luck my friend.
I am with you that we need a open mind to try solve this puzzle. I bet that sebum, or rancid sebum can be involucrated.... have you any idea if crystalized sebum in scalp could have any role acording to your thought?

 

[HairIsPossible]

have you any idea if crystalized sebum in scalp could have any role acording to your thought?

Yes, I think it may play a role in altering the environment of the scalp especially as baldness advances and it may be one of the reasons why it is much harder to grow back hair which has been dormant for a long time. The sebum build up may be the difference between men who have hairs which are microscopic but still functional to some level vs men who have a bowling ball smooth surface without the trace of even the smallest follicle.

As I have stated previously, there is likely feedback mechanisms involved in male pattern baldness which cause the physiological processes that occur in the scalp to shift toward an equilibrium which is less favorable or impossible for follicle development. Sebum is likely to be one of these, especially in the later stages of follicle degeneration.

 

[HairIsPossible]

Years back I saw a guy on a forum in my country (I'm in China) who claimed he stopped male pattern baldness using Qi-Gong.

Qi-Gong is a traditional mental+physical training in China. A little bit similar to yoga. It translates as "life energy cultivation". People who practice Qi-Gong are believed to be able to influence or control their "Qi" (life energy). For example, a man who knows his way of Qi can concentrate his "energy" on his one hand, and after a few minutes that hand would be significantly warmer than the other. Yoga has similar concepts. I personally understand it as influencing your blood flow and micro circulation. It sounds funny and few people are still doing it but it's true.

So what that guy claimed he did was concentrating Qi on his scalp. Back then I laughed at him but maybe there were actually some truth in it, if the blood flow theory makes sense.

In many ways when I think about this baldness problem using a simple idea like flow of qi everything falls into place a lot more cleanly than trying to break everything down into hormones, fat cells and capillaries. This is why I believe the scalp exercises if I do them correctly and persistently may bring results, because when I really do them right I can feel energy (qi) moving to my scalp.

I used to sit and meditate and try to focus on my hair, however that did very little to actually focus my energy towards my scalp, instead it was mostly bringing my energy towards whatever allows my capacity to persistently imagine something.

I know these terms like "my energy" may make some of you cringe because they are vague and do not fit into the framework of modern medicine, however I think it's clear that it's time to open up the box with our language and analytical tools because modern medicine and its rigid reductionist terminology has proven itself a total failure for curing male pattern baldness.

I don't want to confuse anyone here, but for those who know a bit about qi-gong there are actually two types of qi, yin and yang. As I have mentioned previously, hairloss in chinese medicine has been said to be caused by "deficient yin" or "excessive heat." For those who are also familiar with chinese medicine they will know that the system of treatment is not as much of a science as it is an art, and every case must be treated uniquely within the context of the whole individual. For example, in the hairloss in person A might be the result of a blockage in a certain meridian and so the treatment would be on opening up that blockage, while the hairloss in person B might be the result of excessive energy being drained by the adrenal glands and so the treatment would aim to reduce the demands of the adrenal glands through change in lifestyle and emotional habits.

In my particular case, I think I have quite a concentrated high tension temperament and so this is causing an inadequate flow of yin qi to the top of my scalp, whether through blockage or poor distribution. One reason I am quite certain of this is because there have been several occasions in the past where my hair has started to spontaneously grow in thicker than it previously had and in every case when it happened I had a corresponding persistent change in my daily attitude where I felt more relaxed and calm directly prior to the new hair. In these times I felt quite literally "in flow" with things. Of course, life is rarely so simple where such an attitude can be perpetually maintained, however I do believe there may be specific thought habits perhaps related to specific facial or body tensions which may cause either "blockage" or "poor distribution" of yin qi to flow to the top of the scalp and so if one could become conscious of these habits and fix them then they may be able to permanently ensure that even in times of distress they do not suffer significant hairloss. I am optimistic that the scalp exercises will at the very least bring me one step closer to identifying this very subtle principle at work.

 

[deraj]

@HairIsPossible

I'm well aware this may be of no use, but there was some talk elsewhere about peppermint oil so i did the usual casual browse. Interestingly I found this study showing peppermint oil to be more effective at growth stimulation than minoxidil. But more interestingly, and perhaps related to your point, in the discussion section it says

"It has been reported that menthol increases the sensitivity of cutaneous cold receptors by modulating Ca2+ currents of neuronal membranes"

It also then links to that other study describing that point, but i wasn't smart enough to make head or tail of that one.

Here's the link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4289931/

 

[Armando Jose]

In the study
" Menthol is the most effective penetration enhancer
that, along with limonene, can be considered the prototype
for the use of terpenes as penetration enhancers"
Maybe peppermint oil make to jojoba oil penetrate better

Sadly It is a rat study

 

[HairIsPossible]

I'm well aware this may be of no use, but there was some talk elsewhere about peppermint oil so i did the usual casual browse. Interestingly I found this study showing peppermint oil to be more effective at growth stimulation than minoxidil. But more interestingly, and perhaps related to your point, in the discussion section it says

"It has been reported that menthol increases the sensitivity of cutaneous cold receptors by modulating Ca2+ currents of neuronal membranes"

It also then links to that other study describing that point, but i wasn't smart enough to make head or tail of that one.

Great find and thank you for sharing.

I am no expert on cutaneous neuronal signals, especially in the scalp of a balding man, but if this increased sensitivity holds for human beings as well as the animals tested in this experiment it may enhance the effectiveness of a "cold therapy" type treatment. I have reservations in saying that however because I think there is a good chance that there is a total breakdown in neuronal and cellular communication in the balding scalp at a certain advanced stage. In which case, the possibility for effective communication of the cutaneous cells on the scalp would have to be restored first before the treatment would have any effect.

This brings up a very important general question that is rarely discussed, which is:

To what degree is male pattern baldness the result of ineffective cellular communication?
​

This question has been so poorly investigated that I still reserve the possibility that the entire pathology of androgenic alopecia is a result of "communication breakdown."

If this is not the case one must account for why in other parts of the body and in other forms of alopecia hair follicles that are damaged or malnourished will begin to grow back as soon as the ailment or injury is alleviated. As an example, I used to have a bald patch on my left leg because the contents of my pocket was always pressing against the hair follicles in my thigh causing them to grow thinner and weaker than the rest of the hairs on my leg and even after I addressed the situation with my pocket it took perhaps as long as a year or two before that patch was growing back to full strength. It did come back however and that would only be possible because of effective cellular communication in that area. The same doesn't seem to be true for the hair on the heads of many men, and the question remains as to why this is the case.

 

[Mac12345]

Any progress with your new techniques? Would be good to hear about that.

 

[HairIsPossible]

I don't do these techniques because I expect them to bring me more hair. I do these techniques because I expect them to help me figure out the real cause of male pattern baldness. Once the pathology is truly discovered, devising a cure will be relatively easy. The only reason we have not rid the world of androgenic alopecia so far is because we are crippled in our understanding of the pathology.

This disease is one of the great puzzles of our time and I can't help but feel sorry for all those who are stuck on the DHT-genetic theory because they are really missing out on an absolutely marvelous intellectual exercise.

I find this problem so complex and unwieldy with modern analytical notions that I would not be surprised at all if the solution will bring with it the key to unlock an entirely new paradigm in understanding our physiology.

 

[DLI]

Hi Everyone, thanks for this interesting thread. I have been reeding all the thread and 2 things come in my mind.

When hair is transplanted from the back of the head to the top of the head, plenty of evidence shows that it does not fall and it is claimed that this is due to its low sensitivity to DHT levels. However the receptor area has already lost a lot of fatty tissue which increases pressure levels as observed by Emin Tuncay Ustuner in his study. Therefore why is this not interpreted as the hair from the back of the head being more resistant to high pressure and low level of fat tissue (resistant to hostile environment), rather than being more resistant to high levels of DHT. In his study he has described that high levels of DHT should favour hair growth like other parts of the body. Therefore in my own opinion I believe that the hair from the back of the head has more resistance to high pressure and low levels of fatty tissues. This would explain why the new transplanted hair does not thin after the transplant in an area that has already lost a lot of fatty tissue and has high pressure and be consistent with why hair in some parts of the body increase growth due to high levels of DHT. I think that Emin Tuncay Ustuner's study could be enhanced by studying the tolerance to higher levels of pressure and low levels of fatty tissues of transplanted hair. So it is not the tolerance to DHT levels but tolerance to pressure and low levels of fatty tissues.

Deepak Lalwani Idnani.

 

[LusciousLadyLocks]

You have cause/effect backwards. WNT/beta-catenin signaling increases fat deposit levels as it sends hair into the anagen phase. Just adding fat doesn't send it into the anagen phase. Actual cold therapy would decrease circulation--which is clearly not good since inducing angiogenesis through VEGF increases hair growth by an independent mechanism. Anyway, menthol in peppermint oil increases hair growth (warning: IN MICE), and its action on the follicle is mediated by the TRPM8 receptor, which is also called the cold-menthol receptor. Therefore, increasing cold response without decreasing blood circulation might really regrow hair. Menthol is the best way to do this, as icilin is not selective enough (it cross-reacts with heat receptors, which have been shown to cause hair LOSS).

To sum all this up...

Try a little peppermint in a carrier oil. It will do as much as you can expect to get out of cold therapy.

(For chemo is different--they really are trying to prevent short-term blood circulation during chemo infusions to keep the drugs away from the hair until they are absorbed elsewhere.)

 

[LusciousLadyLocks]

Your business with the Ph of blood is off-base. Blood Ph is extremely tightly regulated. If it goes off, you die. All this "alkaline diet" nonsense is just that. It will do nothing for hair.

 

[LusciousLadyLocks]

On hypoxia--hypoxia causes angiogenesis, which would increase hair growth--though it mainly benefits the brain over the rest of the tissues. High-altitude training works for a reason.

A very strange anecdote for you:

Years back I saw a guy on a forum in my country (I'm in China) who claimed he stopped male pattern baldness using Qi-Gong.

Qi-Gong is a traditional mental+physical training in China. A little bit similar to yoga. It translates as "life energy cultivation". People who practice Qi-Gong are believed to be able to influence or control their "Qi" (life energy). For example, a man who knows his way of Qi can concentrate his "energy" on his one hand, and after a few minutes that hand would be significantly warmer than the other. Yoga has similar concepts. I personally understand it as influencing your blood flow and micro circulation. It sounds funny and few people are still doing it but it's true.

So what that guy claimed he did was concentrating Qi on his scalp. Back then I laughed at him but maybe there were actually some truth in it, if the blood flow theory makes sense.

Did you know that the word "qi" in Chinese also means flatulence? Pretty accurate as far as this theory goes.

Very interesting. According to Edgar Cayce, subluxations can play a role in baldness.
My balding started after i had back pain for the first time in my life, and a X-RAY scan showed one of my vertebral discs had began to flatten.

No.

 

[TanbarkBells]

It's interesting to stumble across this thread since i watched Wim Hoff in this interview last week:

Since then i have incorporated cold showers into my routines. The cold on your head makes the blood rush to the head to warm it up. Cold showers also makes you breathe harder and it increases your heart rate which has it's own other benefits.

I will be following your future posts closely, HairIsPossible. It's refreshing to read some open minded stuff on here. DHT obviously plays a part in all this but the only thing that has really truly been proven is that DHT is more present in the hairs of balding men than non-balding men. Everything else is theory. Nobody knows what role DHT has exactly. I find it hard to believe that DHT is solely responsible for hair loss. There's gotta be more to it. But all big pharma really care about is making money, so why should we put so much stock in their research? It's highly unlikely that they're going to tell us, "hey guys, it actually has a lot more to do with blood flow and diet than anything, so focus on that rather than buy our drugs"

 

[TanbarkBells]

Interestingly, according to this study that tested the scalps of 28 males (14 with early male pattern baldness and 14 with full heads of hair), subcutaneous blood flow was 2.6 times lower on average in guys with male pattern baldness than the guys without it: http://www.jidonline.org/article/0022-202X(89)90189-9/pdf

If you look at the graph, the numbers are significantly different between the two groups.

Looks like a clear correlation to me. You don't see any normal-haired guys with numbers in the single digits. There is likely something to this subcutaneous tissue/fat stuff. More research needed though.

Also, i'm reading that Niacin can be effective in increasing blood flow.

 

[Afro_Vacancy]

You can increase brown fat by reducing your insulin resistance and insulin levels. I saw a talk on this recently, brown fat is inversely correlated to insulin.

 

[tomcat]

now its been 3 weeks since i started cold shower im 100 % sure my hair are healthier now and my skin softer and lighter and little bit less hairloss u guys must try it

 

[Armando Jose]

In the cited study
"The site of measurement in bald subjects was hairless." and
"The results clearly showed a reduced SBF in patients with
early male pattern baldness."

No hair in the site of meausrement, but people are in early male pattern baldness? No match very good, It could be good if we know the specific norwood of people in this study.

 

[TanbarkBells]

No hair in the site of meausrement, but people are in early male pattern baldness? No match very good, It could be good if we know the specific norwood of people in this study.

I believe that's what the "Hamilton Balding Type" is referring to in the image i posted

 

[Armando Jose]

You are right TanbarkBelss

but Norwood III o Norwood IV is not early male pattern baldness, IMO